Links I like

A while back I began a series of tweets over several days reflecting on my friendship with Jesus. The response was heartwarming, as many seemed to indicate they found the updates helpful and encouraging. Somebody suggested I write a book on the subject, but I hope you will settle for a blog post. Here are the tweets about my friend Jesus. I hope he is your friend too.

Taking Joy in the Joy of Others

What I’ve discovered about my neighborhood, in particular, is that almost everyone is a transplant to our city and this neighborhood. The overwhelming majority have lived here less than five years. Several languages and nearly a dozen nationalities are represented in this diverse group of 1,400 people. And the few times I’ve hosted a “meet and greet”, the confession among us all is that we don’t know one another and really don’t know how to be neighbors to one another. There’s a desire, albeit often very small, but there’s a bigger problem of ignorance and incompetency in knowing how to live in community with other people. Someone has to take the lead and work to overcome the massive inertia to build relationships and forge meaningful community.

Did you know that you get a dopamine rush when someone echoes what you already believe? It’s similar to the buzz we get when we eat chocolate or fall in love. Sounds like we should surround ourselves with people who agree with us, doesn’t it. Sadly that’s what often happens to leaders, including church and ministry leaders. They are drawn to those who affirm them and tend to avoid, silence, or ignore those who might challenge them.

But as Noreena Hertz explains at the Harvard Business Review, “a vast body of research now points to the import of contemplating diverse, dissenting views. Not just in terms of making us more rounded individuals but in terms of making us smarter decision-makers. Dissent, it turns out, has a significant value.”

God does so much for our good when he disciplines us. He steers us away from sin and temptation, like a shepherd giving a sheep a thwack with his rod on its side to keep it from the edge of a cliff. God humbles us, makes us dependent on him, and comforts us so we can comfort others who suffer. He strengthens our faith and makes us more merciful to others. He displays his power in us and proves his faithfulness. He does a thousand things for our good when he disciplines us. And though discipline hurts now, later it will yield good fruit.